Goodbye Ordinary
by Welcome to the New
Summary: Dangers lurk behind every corner. Especially when you're on the Grid. When an old enemy returns, things go from bad to worse for Tron and his team. And things aren't going to get any better when two of SHIELD's top agents join them to stop their old enemy.
1. Welcome To The New

**AN: Kay, before I get into full detail, I just wanted to warn everyone that these chapters will likely be shorter than my usual writing. And all of the titles are based off of songs by MercyMe, and a few other bands. Majority will likely be MercyMe though ;)**

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**Chapter One  
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The general smirked as he watched the code extraction work. Finally, after all these cycles of searching, one of his scientists had found a working code extraction. This was one of the few codes that would work on a User. And despite all the struggles this User had made, they were now holding up their disk in defeat.

It would take time for their system to fully cooperate with the code. But for now he finally had the perfect soldier. Even the Son of Flynn would not dare fight this soldier. Now he would get his revenge on the one who betrayed him so many cycles ago.

. . .

How many cycles had passed since she left the Grid? Beck wasn't too sure, but it felt like forever.

Guilt had kept him away from the clubs or even going out on patrols with Tron. They should have told Mira what was going on. More and more programs were disappearing on the streets with each passing cycle. Tron was constantly searching for the missing programs. But so far nothing had turned up. Even Sam and Quorra were unable to find them from the User world.

"You're going to derezz if you don't get energy." Beck jumped when he noticed that Paige had joined him. "You know, it helps if you talk about your problems," she added as if knowing that something was wrong.

"Is it that obvious?" he groaned as Paige smirked in response.

"Considering you've been staring off into the distance for the past few nanocycles, I'd say yes," she replied.

"What do you say to someone, when you've been keeping secrets from them?" Beck tilted his head to one side, suddenly realizing that he could use this advice to his advantage.

Since the Grid had returned to a normal state, he had been hiding his face from everyone at the garage. He wasn't sure how they would react to his sudden return. That familiar sense of fear had suddenly returned in a matter of nanocycles.

"If they're really your friends, they'll understand, Beck," Paige told him. Beck stiffened when she said his name with a charming smile. She just patted his shoulder before leaning against the building that towered above them. "You're hiding your face because you're afraid, and you have every right to be," she added.

"You would've done the same thing," he pointed out in an accusing tone, trying to sway the conversation.

Paige just huffed and rolled her eyes in annoyance. "Annoying bitbrain," she muttered crossly.

This time it was Beck's turn to grin sheepishly. Mira would've called him the same thing. Once again he was left wondering what she was doing now. Probably secret spy missions with SHIELD. Or spending time with that kid she had mentioned before leaving the Grid.

Beck suddenly frowned at the thought. What if they had become more than just friends? Would she forget about the Grid and leave everyone behind? He couldn't imagine her doing such a thing, but the thoughts stuck with him.

Paige was ready to leave when a light cycle suddenly approached them. She stopped just in time to see Tron's mask recede. He didn't look happy. Than again, when was Tron ever happy? Tron glanced in Beck's direction, expression serious as he got off his light cycle.

"We have a problem," he announced.

"I'm guessing that it's nothing good." Beck ruffled the back of his hair while Tron glared at him.

At this rate he was never going to get that break Tron had promised cycles ago. With a sigh of frustration he decided to along with it as Tron led the way into what was now the safehouse.

The building was massive, housing several hundred programs that didn't have jobs. This was where Paige and a few more medics worked now that there was no hospital in the city. Tron had been more than thankful to accept their help. The tower was also the base of operations.

The three of them passed the programs being trained to fight back against unknown threats. Beck recognized a few of the programs working at Able's garage. Now that Sam had fixed a few files the garage was up and functioning properly. It surprised Beck that programs still needed the garage to repair vehicles.

Once they were in the elevator Tron pulled out what looked like a file of codes. Beck recognized the SHIELD logo in an instant. Paige on the other hand tilted her head to one side curiously.

"I just received a report from Sam Flynn that something serious has happened in the User world," Tron explained as the elevator reached their destination. What Beck saw next nearly made his jaw drop in alarm, no, wait, panic.

Standing in the room were two very familiar figures. Paige just stood there with her arms folded, while Tron shut down the code he pulled up earlier.

"You wanna explain what happened to her?" Neither of them had a chance to explain anything. An alarm sounded as Clint pulled out an arrow and aimed it towards their direction. Tron just eyed them warily before reaching the screen that overlooked the city.

What they saw next made everyone stare in dismay.

Half of Purgos had been taken out with explosives. Though Sam had rewritten the file for the city, he had made it slightly more welcoming. Now it looked like a pile of rubble. The remains of derezzed programs could be made out as Tron zoomed in to get a better view.

"What the hell is going on here?" Natasha demanded, voice cold as ice. That was normal. By now Beck had gotten used to it, though he could see that she had her guns raised and ready to fire as well.

Beck squinted his eyes to make out the figure that was standing in the middle of what was left of Purgos. Very few circuits marked their suit. That wasn't what had caught his attention. It was the words plastered in bright orange colors that sent chills down his spine.

Courtesy of your old friend, Dyson.

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**AN: So yeah, a lot to be explained later on and already the Grid's having problems ^^ I'm having lots of fun writing this. Hopefully everyone else will enjoy reading it too :)**


	2. Flawless

**Chapter Two**

"Sir, the subject is showing signs of disobedience." A soldier was standing beside the general, looking rather terrified as he held up a tablet.

"We need to ensure that this project does not fail," the general replied after grinding his teeth in frustration. "Modify the code. Make sure that the subject submits."

"What happens if the subject fail-" The soldier didn't get the chance to finish speaking.

A disk sliced across his chest. Cubes fell to the floor, and the program standing nearby watched on with mixed horror and awe.

"Clean up this mess, and finish the task," the general ordered.

The program didn't argue. He knew better.

. . .

Almost at once Tron's circuits glowed a hot white with rage. Dyson. Beck had not heard that name in a long time. He almost forgot about the old general, and had hoped that Dyson was derezzed when Clu was taken down.

"We've got bigger problems to worry about," Tron snapped after shutting down the screen. "You two can solve your problems in your own world."

Tron just moved to the side as soon as Clint fired an arrow. Paige's eyes widened in horror just as the formidable User rushed forward. Standing to the side as Tron caught Clint by the fist, Beck couldn't help but wince. Those two were probably evenly matched.

"You're Users, aren't you?" Paige managed to ask once Tron had pinned Clint to the floor. While the two were having a go at it, Natasha pinched the bridge of her nose in frustration.

"Look, what exactly happened?" Beck demanded before things got any worse. He guessed that it was Tony Stark who sent these two here in the first place. The Digitizer had been moved to a secret location, hopefully one that other Users wouldn't find out about.

"Mira disappeared about five days ago," Clint explained before Natasha could open her mouth.

This time it was Beck's turn to look worried. He knew all too well that she was capable of taking care of herself. But being gone for five User days meant that something must have gone wrong. He couldn't remember noticing if an alarm had gone off signaling that a User had arrived.

"We need to find out what Dyson is up to," Tron ordered after letting a very annoyed Clint up. "Paige, you're going with me to Purgos." Paige just nodded before Tron looked at Beck. "Keep an eye on them, I don't want any trouble from SHIELD," he added.

It didn't take them long to leave. Once they were gone the tension Beck had felt earlier suddenly returned. Having two top assassins in the same room certainly wasn't helping. And the fact that they looked more confused than ever only made things worse.

"What's with him? Seems more tense than usual," Clint muttered under his breath.

Beck leaned against the wall as he thought things over. He had gotten to know that both Natasha and Clint were very loyal to SHIELD. And any information might be fed to Director Fury. So he needed to play it low in order to keep the Grid safe.

"Tron and Dyson share an... uneasy past," he explained warily.

If he could he would rather leave it at that. Most likely Mira had already told them about Dyson. And if she hadn't they were about to find out just how brutal Dyson was in combat. His attacks had left a heavy toll on Tron, both physically and emotionally.

"He's a former soldier working under Clu," Natasha suddenly pointed out. Beck looked at her in surprise before nodding. "So Dyson survived after Clu was taken down, and now he's out for revenge."

"Well that's just wonderful." Clint folded his arms. "At least he's a somewhat normal villain." This time Beck raised an eyebrow. He hadn't seen Mira since she left the Grid. Clearly things had happened in the User world. It looked like there was a lot he needed to catch up on.

. . .

It didn't take long for Tron and Paige to reach their destination. With the possibilities of the threat still being in the area, they needed to take extra precaution. The remains of Purgos was a mess of rubble and torn apart code.

Whoever had done this knew precisely where to strike. That was what bothered Tron more than anything else. How could Dyson let this happen? Was this to provoke them into attacking? Or was there a hidden message in this attack?

"I never liked Dyson to begin with," Paige muttered after getting off her light cycle. "But this is going too far."

Pixels crunched under her feet as she walked. They were the shattered remains of programs, likely fleeing from the scene.

"We need to look for any clues that might lead to why this happened," Tron told her. Paige was experienced with situations like this. He just hoped that Beck could keep those Users from delving deeper into this mystery. If what he feared was true, than everyone's lives were in danger.

Paige kept close to the edge of the city, exploring a building that was somehow still standing. Half of the roof had been torn apart, collapsing in on itself. And the front of the building had a gaping hole that left it exposed to the elements.

Her eyes widened when she caught something moving in the building. Reaching for her disk on pure instinct, she activated it and prepared for the worst. Gridbugs were drawn to destruction and a masses of code. Tron wouldn't be surprised if that was what waited for them.

What they weren't expecting was to find a program lurched under a pile of rubble. The program was struggling to free himself from the beams that had held up the building. Paige glanced at Tron in alarm before pulling off the beams, while Tron pulled the program out of the building.

"Tron, thank you!" the program gasped. Part of his leg had been badly injured, along with a few scratches along his torso. Paige immediately went to work on fixing the code, making sure that he didn't derezz on them.

"What happened here?" Tron asked while she worked.

"I was alone in the building when that explosion shook the city," the program explained. "It happened so quickly. One minute everything was fine, and the next, I found myself being crushed." He grimaced as Paige put his disk back in place.

"Did you happen to get a look at who did this?" Though he had been in the building, perhaps he had gotten a look at anyone who might seem suspicious. Although in Purgos, just about everyone looked suspicious.

"No... I'm sorry," he admitted, sounding guilty. "Whoever did this was fast, faster than any program I could think of."

Tron exchanged a wary look with Paige. For now they would take this program to Argon City. At least he had survived, and as far as Tron could tell after scanning the city, he was the only survivor.

. . .

"Sounds like I missed a lot these past few days," Beck sighed once he was filled in on what had happened.

Users were such strange creatures. Having a giant enemy like the Lizard didn't sound like a fun adventure. To top things off people around the city had become infected with the Lizard's serum. It was only thanks to a User called Spiderman that the Lizard was taken down in the first place.

At least that was what Beck had gathered. Right now Clint looked bored, fumbling with his arrows while Natasha spoke with Director Fury. Having the place rigged thanks to Sam and Tony meant that communication with Users was so much easier.

It felt like cycles had passed by the time Tron returned. Beck was surprised that Paige wasn't by his side. Something must have happened at what was left of Purgos. And judging from Tron's expression it wasn't anything good.

"We found one survivor," Tron reported before anyone could ask what had happened. "They didn't have much of a description of the attacker."

"So other than that nothing serious happened," Clint concluded with the slightest smirks.

The look Tron gave him was priceless. Beck had to wonder why Clint never took anything seriously. At least with situations like this.

"You two should leave before things get worse." Tron's response was curt, but Beck didn't miss the worry in his voice. He glanced at his mentor in surprise.

"Not until we find out what happened to Mira," Natasha replied. "Director Fury just informed me that she was last seen at her apartment, before she disappeared. That was five days ago, when the Digitizer was last activated," she added before Tron could argue.

Chills swept down Beck's arms. Five days ago she had disappeared. And five days ago the Digitizer had been activated. Beck could only imagine that meant she had been on the Grid at some point. So if that was the case, than where was she now?

Tron just folded his arms and looked at the two Users thoughtfully. "If what you're saying is true, than finding her now will be impossible," he explained. "Like Flynn she has discovered what Users can do on the Grid, and that included hiding herself from security programs."

"Can't you just let SHIELD hack into the system and find her?" Tron stiffened at the mention of SHIELD, and Beck rolled his eyes in annoyance.

At this rate they would never get anywhere. Beck was just hoping that things didn't get any worse from here on. Otherwise they were all going to be in trouble.

. . .

The plan was working. Dyson tried not to grin triumphantly as he watched the events unfold.

Purgos was left in a pile of rubble after his ultimate weapon had destroyed it. Only one survivor had remained, and he made sure that program had lived to tell the tale. Send fear into the hearts of countless programs. Soon everyone would know that he was their ruler, and he would strike down anyone who opposed him.

He turned towards the soldier standing beside him. Throughout the video feed the soldier had remained silent. And despite the struggles they had put up earlier, the soldier was now close to being perfect.

"I want you to close off communication throughout the Grid," he ordered. The soldier eyed him warily before he explained, "I gave you administrative powers. Now use them."

The soldier didn't argue. Communications were cut off within the Grid and the User world. Now Tron wouldn't dare ask the Son of Flynn or anyone else for help. This was now the perfect plan.

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**AN: So there's the second chapter. Glad to see some positive feedback, and hopefully I'm not rushing too much ^^" I tend to do that a lot unfortunately. So thanks to Panda Bear Lover 317 and 2theSky for reviewing! You guys are awesome :)**


	3. Bring The Rain

**Chapter Three**

Throughout the bickering of the three, Beck had decided to take the chance to leave. Tron could deal with these Users on his own. He was fully capable of taking them on at once if a fight broke out, though Beck doubted that would happen. Maybe Clint would be itching for a fight, but Natasha would hold back. All the while Beck was still trying to figure out what was really going.

With the recent attack on Purgos everyone was on edge. The program Paige had rescued was retelling stories of how the city had been destroyed in nanocycles. Beck glanced in their direction, hoping to get a better look at the program. He had short brown hair with white and green circuits running along his suit. Everyone seemed interested to hear what he had to tell. Paige leaned against the wall as he talked in a hushed whisper, as if afraid someone might be listening in on them.

"Hey, we heard what happened!" Beck flinched when he recognized Mara's voice. Standing beside her was Zed, who looked nervous as all eyes turned towards them. "Is it true?" Mara leaned forward as the survivor nodded. "How could this happen? Wasn't there anyone around to watch out for anything dangerous?" She glanced towards Beck's direction, than to Paige.

"It happened so quickly that we never had a chance to strike back," Paige replied with a shrug. "Even if we had been there on time, there wasn't anything we could do. Whoever attacked the city knew exactly where to strike."

Mara's face fell at the realization. Even with Tron and his team constantly patrolling, they could not prevent this from happening. Beck felt his fists tightening with frustration. First this had to happen, and now no one seemed to know what had happened to Mira.

Before Mara could say anything else, the sound of footsteps coming down the hall echoed. For a moment Beck thought it was Tron, reporting that Clint and Natasha had left. But his eyes widened when he saw the two Users standing behind Tron, looking more frustrated than ever.

"Someone managed to shut down communication," Tron announced as everyone stared at him in surprise. Than at Clint and Natasha.

"That's impossible," Paige retorted. "Only someone with administrative power can shut down communication." She was right about that much. Only Tron had administrative powers as far as Beck was aware. Unless Sam Flynn had given someone else that kind of power, though he doubted it.

"Or a User could shut it down," Zed pointed out warily.

Beck bit the bottom of his lip at the thought. A User could be working for Dyson. It was possible he had shut down communication to keep Tron from asking Sam to shut him down from the outside. The plan was almost full proof actually, as much as Beck hated admitting it.

"So who are you?" The program Paige had rescued looked terrified when Clint shot him a cold look.

"If that's the case than we can't return to the real world." Natasha placed her hand on her hips before Tron could argue, ignoring the program's question.

She did have a point there. They couldn't reach out to the Digitizer if communication was down. So until the threat of Dyson was taken care of, they would have to offer their assistance. Or they would drive everyone on the Grid to insanity.

Beck looked at Tron uncertainly as he thought over what to tell everyone. Should they go back to business as usual, or should he tell everyone that this was all Dyson's fault? Beck had a feeling that would only stir panic.

"I assume you two know how to operate a light cycle?" Tron's question caught Beck by surprise. Clint just exchanged a look with Natasha before shrugging in response. "You two are coming with us than. We need the rest of the team here, to keep an eye on things," he ordered.

He didn't give them or anyone else a chance to argue. Beck wandered after him as he led them to the elevator.

"Okay, what's going on?" Clint demanded once they were inside.

Tron hesitated before answering. A solemn look passed his features before he glanced at Beck. "Look, the video feed showed someone standing at the edge of Purgos as it was being destroyed. While I didn't get a good view of the program, I did catch something eerily familiar," he explained.

Beck didn't need to ask Tron what he meant by that. The familiar feeling of guilt had returned. If he had explained to Mira what was going on earlier, maybe none of this would have happened. Tron had always told him that there was no point in dwelling on the past. Even if it did leave a pain in your chest.

"And you expect us to find this mysterious program," Clint muttered.

"You two were trained for missions like this," Tron retorted. "You should start your search in Purgos. Look for any clues that might lead to where this program is. If you see Dyson, run. He's far more dangerous than any program we've ever faced."

Clint was about to make a retort when he thought better of it. Tron handed them a pair of light cycle batons.

"Well, this should be fun," said Natasha after catching her baton. "Try and keep up."

Before Clint could respond, she rezzed her light cycle and sped off. Beck couldn't help but smirk as Clint rolled his eyes and did the same. Mira had done the same thing with him many cycles ago. They would race across the Outlands to see who was faster. And every time she would win.

"Beck, you and I are patrolling the edge of the city," Tron suddenly ordered. "If my hunch is right than that soldier might strike Argon City next, and we need to be ready for the attack."

. . .

Amusement coursed through Dyson as he watched the two Users. Getting lost in the midst of turmoil was never a good idea. They were vulnerable, leaving an opportunity for him to attack. But before he decided to launch his next attack, he was readying the line of soldiers he had gathered.

"Take down Argon City. Leave nothing behind, but I want Tron and his 'apprentice' alive," he ordered.

All of these soldiers had once been loyal followers of Tron. But the code extractions Dyson had created made certain they forgot all about their so called hero. Once they were ready to leave he turned to face his greatest warrior.

"I think you'll make fine use of this," he explained before handing the program a second disk. The disk was similar to the one Clu had used on Rinzler. Once activated the soldier's memories would be all but locked away. "You know what to do."

The soldier only responded by putting the disk back in place, locking it with their own. Once the task was complete the soldier ran after the others. Dyson could only smirk as they left the base. Things were about to get very interesting indeed.

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**AN: Ah so many questions. And yes, things are going to go from bad to worse before they get better ;) I already have most of the story typed up XD Goes to show how much I'm enjoying the plot. So thanks to 2theSky, Guest and Panda Bear Lover 317 for reviewing! You guys are awesome :D**


	4. Undone

**Chapter Four**

"What exactly are we supposed to be looking for?" Clint demanded once they reached what looked like their destination. Natasha only rolled her eyes and got off the light cycle.

The city was a mess. If this was what the Grid looked like before Clu was taken down, she could imagine why Sam Flynn was happy to rewrite it. Disgusted by the cubes crunching under her boots, she kicked them out of the way and grimaced.

Those cubes were probably the remains of dead programs.

"At this rate any clues would be better than nothing," she replied.

Communicating with SHIELD was out of the question. All attempts at calling Director Fury had been foiled. Whoever had cut off communications knew that this would happen.

"You know, it's times like these I really wish we'd spent more time on the Grid," Clint sighed. "I hate not knowing what to do."

"I'd be happier knowing Mira is safe." Natasha eyed something moving in the distance. Above a large portion of the city that had been left somewhat intact. Whoever they were they were moving at impossible speed, using the rough terrain to their advantage.

Before she had a chance to give an alarm, Clint fired an explosive arrow at the moving program. The program seemed to move faster than either of them could think. Within seconds the program had tossed aside the arrow like it was nothing, knocking it in their direction.

Natasha jumped out of the way as a pile of debris started tumbling down towards them. Clint joined her shortly after recovering from the sudden resistance met by the program. A cloud of dust filled the air, blocking their view of the oncoming threat.

The moment the dust had cleared the program was standing in front of them, using two disks instead of one.

"Think that's Dyson?" Clint asked before pulling out another arrow.

"Don't know, but we're not finding out." The last thing they needed was to get on Tron's bad side. He was already pissed off enough with them, and SHIELD. It was a miracle he had not hacked into SHIELD's security system like Beck and Mira had.

The program in question was watching their every move, disks ready for any signs of retaliation. Natasha suddenly swept the program off their feet with her legs, giving them a chance to run before the program got back up.

By the time they were running at full speed the program had recovered and easily kept up with them. Natasha kept her eyes fixed on the program that was now running on a ledge. What really caught her attention was the symbol on the program's chest.

She didn't have time to think about it. The program suddenly jumped with a graceful twist and landed in front of them, kicking Clint right out from under his feet. They were ready to strike when Natasha smashed the program's mask, leaving a small chance for them to escape.

Grabbing the light cycle baton Tron had given them, Natasha wasted no time in getting away. Clint was quick to follow, though she could see him glaring at the figure standing up to dust themselves. The program didn't bother giving chase.

"What the hell was that all about?" They stopped once they were far enough away from the city.

"Did you see the symbol on their chest?" The way the program had fought seemed eerily familiar as well. Though for now Natasha wasn't going to say anything. She was more afraid that her assumptions were right than anything else.

"Yeah. The real question is, who was that program?" Natasha pursed her lips as she thought this through. The program could have been this Dyson character Tron had mentioned.

"We need to get back. Whoever the program was, they're gone now," Natasha replied.

And for once she couldn't help feeling relieved that they were gone. Even with all of their training the program had managed to catch them by surprise twice. She doubted that was just a coincidence. What they needed to do now was regroup and figure out what was really going on.

. . .

Panic and fear was evident throughout the city. An evacuation had taken place just nanocycles earlier. Programs were helping one another get as far away from the area as they could. Without the warning Tron had given them they might have met the same fate as Purgos.

"Why is this happening?" Beck demanded once only a few of Tron's team were remaining. "Why start now?"

"Dyson was waiting for the right opportunity," Tron replied. Beck glanced at him to see frustration evident on his features. "And he found an opening."

Before anyone had a chance to say anything, explosions shook the city. Paige held on to her light cycle as the ground below them began to tremble at the force. A cloud of smoke and flames erupted from what Beck guessed was Argon Square. Moments earlier the place was buzzing with activity. And now he had a feeling that it was a pile of cubes.

All they could do was watch as their city was torn apart. Even Tron could not scan the area for bombs planted throughout the city. Dyson had planned this well. Somehow he knew that the city would already be on edge.

"What about those Users?" Mara asked warily. Her eyes were dark with anger the moment Beck looked in her direction. "Wait a microcycle, you sent them away so they wouldn't get hurt!"

The surprise in her voice made Beck visibly flinch. He had forgotten how observant Mara was. While they were busy evacuating the city Clint and Natasha were likely exploring the remains of Purgos. He knew they were fully capable of handling these kinds of situations. They've probably been through worse.

"I did what needed to be done," Tron replied through gritted teeth.

"You keep forgetting that this is what they were trained for," Beck reminded him.

Tron shot him a look of annoyance, but before he could say anything the sound of engines running echoed from ahead. Beck raised an eyebrow when they came to a halt in front of Tron. His expression changed to a frown when he noticed the fresh bruises on Natasha's arms.

"What happened here?" Clint asked after getting off his light cycle.

"Take a wild guess," Zed snapped.

Neither of them had a chance to finish their argument when another explosion shook the city. This one was closer. Beck's eyes widened with horror when he realized that the explosion had taken down Able's garage. A few programs in black guard suits stood nearby, arms folded as if they were preparing for a fight.

"And now we have these guys to worry about," Paige muttered with a roll of her eyes. "I thought you said the black guard was taken down," she added to Tron.

"Dyson must have rebuilt his army." Tron really did sound worried this time. It explained why programs had started disappearing before Mira had left the Grid. Tron wanted to solve the problem before it escalated. Unfortunately for him it seemed like things had taken a turn for the worse.

"Look, whatever the reason behind their appearance, we need to get out of here." Beck hated admitting defeat. But he knew that if they didn't leave now the guards would see them and attack.

It was at the moment he spoke that Natasha suddenly fired something at one of the soldiers. The glare Tron gave her was priceless. Everyone else just gaped at her as the soldier dropped to the ground. He wasn't derezzing, but it was only a matter of time before he started.

"Now we can go," she said with a ghost of a smile.

The team wasted no time in escaping as the soldiers began running. At least this time they would make it out alive. And the programs within the city had been rescued on time. Beck could only hope that the other cities hadn't fallen the same way. Sam Flynn was going to have his hands full once this was all over.

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**AN: And so the questions are raised. I'm having fun writing this :P Thanks Sunofaia, Panda Bear Lover 317 and 2theSky for reviewing! You guys are awesome as always ;)**


	5. Move

**Chapter Five**

It had been a long time since they were in the old safehouse. Tucked away in the mountain it was kept hidden from any prying eyes. Only now it was full of curious programs that Tron had let in. After modifying the code he managed to give them extra space, making it seem like an underground city.

"Why did you shoot at that soldier?" Tron demanded as they headed for the old room that overlooked the Outlands.

"It wasn't a bullet," Natasha explained. "It was a tracer that's locked onto his location."

Even Beck was impressed with how quickly Natasha had adapted to her situation. So that would explain why the soldier had been knocked out. He just hoped that her plan didn't backfire on them. Tron pinched the bridge of his nose before pulling up files from the old system.

"Dyson was recruiting scientists a few cycles ago," Tron muttered, sounding more anxious than anything else. "This is exactly what Clu was up to before the Betrayal."

Memories of the Betrayal were still raw. Beck remembered hearing stories of how Tron had fought to keep this from happening. Clu was quick to rise in power. He used the ISOs to his advantage, making them seem like they were the enemy. Eventually he had enough of an army to take down both the Creator and Tron.

"So we take him down before this gets worse," Clint stated once the files were in full view.

"I'm afraid it isn't that easy," Tron told him. "Dyson knows we are looking for him. We need to send someone who can gather intel, and find out what he's up to."

Almost at once everyone looked at Natasha. She was one of SHIELD's top spies for a reason. Judging from the sheepish grin she already knew what everyone was thinking.

"I've already got the location of his base," she replied.

"You'll need to be careful. If Dyson catches you, he will not hesitate to kill you," Tron warned her. "I'm sending out extra patrols to warn the other cities," he added warily.

Natasha just shrugged as if the idea of getting caught and killed meant nothing to her. He hoped that the outcome was different. While everyone else seemed fine with the idea, Beck couldn't help but wonder how Natasha could be so calm. Even he had his doubts about this mission. Despite all of the training under Tron's watchful gaze, this was one of the most dangerous missions he could think of.

"Once I'm inside I'll look for any clues. Shouldn't be too hard to find what I'm looking for." Beck leaned against the wall as she turned to leave. One thing he had learned about Natasha was that she rarely gave up without a fight. So this mission was probably nothing compared to the ones she faced before. Maybe she would even find out what had happened to Mira. That thought alone sent a thrill of hope through him.

"Alright security monitor, what aren't you telling us?" Clint demanded once she was gone. Tron frowned at the question, but Clint didn't give him a chance to respond. "Clearly you're hiding something, and I want to know what that something is." Beck rolled his eyes when Clint raised an arrow at Tron, ignoring the fact that he had already been beaten more than once by the greatest warrior on the Grid.

"Dyson has... developed a modified code that works on Users," Tron sighed. "A repurposing code."

The hope Beck had felt earlier suddenly vanished. Why had Tron not told anyone about this sooner? If Sam had known about it, he could have deleted the file from the outside. They wouldn't be in the mess they were in right now.

"Are you saying that he already used this code?" Beck finally spoke up for the first time, feeling more aggravated than ever. Because of Tron everyone's lives were in danger. He had to hope that there was a reason behind his mentor's actions. The look Tron gave him was one of despair. That only confirmed Beck's earlier fears.

Suddenly Clint fired an arrow at Tron. The security program blocked it with ease, knocking it aside carelessly. "You knew about this?" His shouting rose up a pitch, and Beck raised an eyebrow as Tron eyed the archer warily. "You sent her out there knowing about the modified code?" Another arrow was fired, this time exploding as it was tossed aside once more.

"I know she's capable of handling this mission," Tron snapped after Clint uttered a few more curses under his breath. "I wanted you two to warn the other cities of what is happening. The team can't do this alone."

"Come on, I'm sure it won't be that bad," Beck stated once the tension had died down.

"I'm sending you the coordinates now. We need to work quickly." Tron sent Beck the files before handing Clint a tablet. "There are bunkers throughout all of the cities that programs know about, after Sam rewrote the Grid he felt it was necessary to take such measures."

Clint just eyed the device warily before memorizing what was on it. While he wasn't familiar with the Grid, Beck had a feeling that he could easily keep up and adapt like Natasha. Now he suddenly understood why they were SHIELD's top agents.

. . .

She was biting her fingertip nervously as the group gathered outside. With the recent destruction of Argon City, the old safehouse was busier than ever. And everyone had been sharing stories of the old days, before Clu's takeover and before the city was destroyed. Even though it had all occurred just a millicycle ago.

"Mara, you okay?" Zed joined her shortly after discussing the plans with Paige, Copper and Dash. The five of them worked so well together that Tron had made a team out of them. But right now Mara wasn't so sure about that. They couldn't do a thing about the surprise attack on Argon.

"No. I'm... worried," she admitted. "This all started when those Users showed up. I just can't help but wonder if they're behind these attacks."

Zed put a hand on her shoulder, hoping that it would comfort her somehow. "Hey, Tron trusts them to some extent. I'm sure he wouldn't just let any User waltz onto the Grid," he told her.

She couldn't help but smile at the thought. He was right. Tron would never let any random User find the Grid. Though they were different from the Son of Flynn, they were still Users.

"We should get started," she sighed. "At this rate we'll have seven cities to warn, and we won't have time if we stick around."

But still, the other User that the Renegade had cared so much for was so much like those other two. Mara wasn't entirely familiar with how Users worked. But she had a feeling that they were all somehow related. One thing she was certain of was that they needed help now more than ever.

"Come on, I bet we have about two cycles to get this done and over with," Dash grumbled after rezzing his light cycle.

"If we split up into groups of two this will go faster," Paige suggested.

"Except we'll be one member short," Copper pointed out. "You forget that there are five of us."

Mara thought that over for a few nanocycles. If they all split up things could get dangerous. While most of them knew how to defend themselves, Zed was still learning. Mara knew that no matter what she wasn't going to leave his side until he could put up a fight.

"Let's think it through on our way there," she said, trying to remain calm.

At least they didn't argue with that suggestion. Once they reached the cities they could come up with some sort of plan. Hopefully whoever was threatening the cities wouldn't take that chance to strike. Mara could only imagine how panicked all the programs would feel if that happened.

. . .

All was quiet in the base. A few remaining soldiers were still recovering from the attack on Argon City. One of their comrades had fallen, leaving them in a weaker state than usual. But their mission had been successful.

"Sir, they took the bait." In the throne room stood Dyson, proud of what he had accomplished in such a short amount of time. Clu would be impressed. This was what he had wanted after all.

"Excellent. Did they send someone here?" His hands were folded behind his back while the soldier informed him of what had happened. "Good, I want soldiers posted near the entrance of the base, and get ready for the next phase."

The soldier saluted in response before doing as he was told. A small smile crept along Dyson's face as he looked out the small window overlooking the Outlands.

Their plan was perfect. Soon the Grid would be his for the taking.

* * *

**AN: Things are really picking up on the Grid. And I'm really enjoying this so far :) Made a few edits throughout the story just so that it makes more sense. And that's about it ^^ By the way, has anyone seen the new Captain America movie yet? I know I said I saw it already, but I'm just curious. Amazing movie, and I'll be seeing it again in 3D XD So big thanks 2theSky, Guest and Panda Bear Lover for reviewing. You guys are awesome :D**


	6. Finish What He Started

**Chapter Six**

_Thank you stealth suit_. Natasha had reached the coordinates in no time. The stealth suit was one of SHIELD's latest inventions, giving her the protection she would need from any prying eyes. This was the perfect opportunity to try it out.

The base was in the middle of the Outlands. Cropped between two smaller cities and a vast wasteland. It was a wonder anyone had spotted it from a distance. The structure was immense. Dark red, orange and yellow lights seemed to radiate from it.

"Well, now I know why you hate those colors so much," she said to no one in particular. Both Mira and Beck had been uncomfortable around certain colors for their first few days in Stark Tower. It had taken some time to let them adjust to the fact that they were just colors in the real world. But here these colors meant danger.

She waited behind a small boulder until a group of soldiers emerged from the base. While the door was still open wide she wasted no time in getting in. No locked door had ever kept her out, but this was the safest way inside. It was likely that this Dyson character already knew she was there.

Once inside she made a point to avoid bumping into anyone. As far as they were concerned they were the only ones in this building. Long corridors stretched before her, flanking out into yet more hallways and smaller rooms. Just how much space did one program need?

Slowly but surely she made her way through the hallways, occasionally peering into the rooms to see what was going on. This base was nothing like SHIELD's HQ or the Hellicarrier. But the soldiers inside were prepping for what she assumed were future fights. Many of them already had received wounds, and piles of pixels covered the floor.

"It appears as though we have an intruder on the base," a voice suddenly announced over the com. "Take them down immediately and you will be greatly rewarded."

So much for stealth. Soldiers were racing down the halls once the announcement was made. Natasha wasted no time in knocking the first soldier out, startling the small group waiting behind him. Another soldier lunged forward with their disk activated. Dodging the disk with ease, Natasha kicked it out of his hand and sent him flying into another soldier, just before the last one standing struggled to take her down. She swung to the side and smacked him in the back of the helmet, knocking him to the floor in the process.

"Now before you lose consciousness, why don't you tell me where your boss is hiding?" Natasha grabbed the soldier by the hem of his suit, pressing the knife she kept at her waste at all times against his neck. The soldier shuddered under her gaze as he struggled to find the right words.

"I-I... I don't know!" he stammered. "We've never seen their face, only received messages and orders, I swear!" He struggled to free himself, but Natasha only sighed in frustration. She tossed him aside carelessly, knocking him out in the process.

So this wasn't Dyson's base. But maybe these soldiers could give her some kind of lead as to where he might be hiding. She continued making her way down the hallways, knocking out a few more soldiers in the process before reaching what appeared to be a suspicious room.

The door was sealed shut, meaning someone had meant to keep out any intruders. With one swift kick Natasha sent the door flying. What she saw next made her eyes widen in alarm. Scraps of files were scattered across the floor, along with desks that contained what she could only guess were the works of scientists, if the Grid had any.

"No, wait!" Before she could get a look at the files a soldier was sent flying into the room. Upon sheer instinct she whipped around, only to find an eerily familiar face looking down at her. Or mask. The damage she had caused earlier had been repaired, but that 'R' symbol on the program's chest was still there.

"Who are you?" The words slipped out, and the program paused momentarily, tilting their head to one side.

The question was left unanswered. Natasha rolled to the side as the program threw a disk, followed by a second. The program was fast, using their speed to their advantage. She caught the program's raised fist with her feet, flipping them face first onto the floor. Biding her time, she jumped as the program used their hand to flip right back on their feet. Natasha blocked the next few strike patterns, knowing full well this program was going to wear down fast if they kept it up.

She swung her leg into the programs thigh, causing them to reel back in surprise at the sudden attack. Taking the opportunity she had, she grabbed the files scattered along the floor and made a run for it.

. . .

The team had finally made up their mind. Splitting up was the best option they had in a situation like this. Mara was biting the bottom of her lip as she made her way to Gallium. Compared to the other cities she had visited Gallium was fairly small. That would make her job a bit easier.

She reached the edge of Gallium in a matter of microcycles. Already she could see programs were gathering near the outskirts of the city. The fact that communication had been cut off was probably why they were gathering. Without any means of reaching out to Tron or his team, they had no idea what was going on.

"Everyone, I need your attention now!" Mara got off her light cycle, turning it back into a baton as programs turned to look at her. After the whole incident at the garage she had practiced her speaking skills, especially in public events such as this. "We need to evacuate the city. I want everyone heading for the bunkers without panic; we can't afford to wait."

"Where's Tron? Shouldn't he be the one to tell us this news?" She narrowed her eyes at the program who spoke up. A tall male program with white and blue circuits stood out in the crowd, folding his arms as he glared at her. "He is after all our supposed _protector_," he added in a sneer.

A few programs gathered around him began muttering to one another, sharing their own thoughts. Mara restrained the urge to punch him in the face. All he was doing was making things worse. If they didn't evacuate now they would be caught in the crossfire.

"Look, I don't know why Tron himself didn't come here to tell you, but I _do_ know that if you don't act now, things are going to get worse," she snapped. "Which is why I'm ordering everyone to get to the bunkers, and make sure that all the buildings are cleared out."

That seemed to alleviate any of the doubt these programs had. Mara's shoulders sagged with relief as the program that spoke out reluctantly nodded in agreement. She was thankful that Able had given her the opportunity to run things in the garage for a cycle. Without that opportunity she would have never gotten this far.

She led the programs to the bunkers, which was hidden within the Outlands. It was close to the city, but far enough away that they would not know what had happened. Once opening up the new safehouse that the Son of Flynn had created, she started helping those who were only just finding out.

"What exactly is going on? Communications are down and I can't reach anyone," a female program sighed as Mara led her away. It was the second time someone had asked what was going on. And Mara was tempted with telling them the truth. But something held her back. She had a feeling that telling them would only make them panic.

"Everything will be back up and running soon," she said reassuringly, hoping that what she said was true. Argon City, the home she had pretty much lived in her entire life, was now gone. She wondered how many other cities would be destroyed until whoever was doing this was stopped.

"Are you sure?" The program looked at her warily, eyes dark with worry.

"Positive." Mara patted the program's shoulder before stepping inside.

The safehouse was bigger looking than Mara expected. It was like an underground city with halls leading to different rooms that programs had to share. Sam had made it so that the safehouse would hold enough programs for every city. And he made it so that they had enough energy to last them for a few cycles.

Once everyone was situated, Mara made sure that there was no one left behind. The few programs left outside of their rooms were inside what was now the gathering hall. Here they could meet and discuss what actions would be needed for the future.

"Keep everyone inside," she told the program that had spoken up earlier. She was surprised to put so much faith in him, but something told her that he had dealt with this kind of situation before. "Once communications are back up you should be able to leave," she added.

"Let's just hope that what you're doing is the right thing," he grumbled. Mara couldn't agree more with him. She truly hoped that this mess would be cleared up soon. If they could get communication back up than Sam would be able to fix everything else.

. . .

By the time they were finished warning the cities Natasha had returned from her mission. Beck was fumbling around with the codes on Tron's computer, trying to figure out if he could reach out to the User world. If there was any hope of reaching out to Sam or even SHIELD, maybe they could stop Dyson from the outside.

"You okay Nat?" Beck raised an eyebrow as the door to the elevator swung open, revealing a tired looking Natasha.

"Never better. Clint, you need to see this," she suddenly murmured.

The wariness Beck had felt earlier suddenly returned. Clearly something had happened at the base. And he was guessing that Dyson hadn't even been there. Taking a deep breath, he tried distracting himself while the two Users spoke in low whispers.

He hated not knowing what to do in situations like this. Being the Renegade he had always been so sure of himself because of Tron's guidance. But now with Dyson's return he felt useless. It wasn't like when General Tesler had taken over all those cycles ago. Everything was so different now.

"You mean to tell me that Dyson's been keeping files on everyone from SHIELD?" Once again Clint's voice rose to more than just worry. Now it was Beck's turn to look at them in disbelief. How would they know if Dyson was keeping track of SHIELD? Than he noticed the files that Natasha was holding on to.

"It seems that way," Natasha replied with a heavy sigh. "There was a message left from your wonderful former leader, Clu," she added to Beck, who was now watching them curiously. That got his attention.

Carefully he made his way over to them, knowing full well that any wrong move would get him killed. After what Clint had nearly done to Tron, Beck wasn't taking any chances. Last thing he wanted was the wrath of these two on his shoulders.

So he was more than surprised when he saw the message that Natasha had told him about. It was a message Clu had left for Dyson. One that he would follow until the end of his time. Which Beck was hoping would come soon.

'_Finish what I started_'

* * *

**AN: Bahaha, I had so much fun writing this chapter :D From confusion to panic to just about everything else... yeah. Anywho, hope everyone has a wonderful Palm Sunday. Headed out for an Iron Pigs game after church to hang out with my friends ;) Thanks 2theSky and Panda Bear Lover 317 for reviewing, you guys are the best :D**


	7. Everything Impossible

**Chapter Seven**

The words sent shivers of fear and rage through Beck.

Finish what I started.

Clu knew that he would be taken down, eventually. So he must have known that he would still have loyal supporters out there. Beck had to wonder how Dyson had grown so powerful in such a short amount of time. Or maybe Dyson had this kind of power long before Clu was taken down. Either way, he wanted to end this now more than ever.

"So we take down this Dyson character, and everything goes back to normal," Clint suggested.

"I'm afraid it isn't that easy," Natasha pointed out. "That soldier of Dyson's is strong, and I'm guessing he'll have guards posted around him twenty four seven."

Beck frowned at the terms she was using. Why couldn't she just make it easier by saying every cycle? He had a difficult enough time adjusting to User terms. It was only thanks to Mira's help that he was able to adjust at all.

"See, that's why we need to work as a team." Despite how annoying he could be at times, Clint did have a good point. The only way they were going to get through this was as a team. Like when they had fought alongside the rest of the Avengers.

"I'm in." Beck tried not to smirk when Natasha pinched the bridge of her nose. If anyone could take down Dyson it was them. They were after all master assassins. This was what they were trained for. He wasn't one to derezz programs, but they would not hesitate.

"What's going on here?" Before any of them could say anything, Tron's stern voice echoed throughout the room. Beck straightened up as the security program approached them. His arms were folded as he waited for some kind of response.

He doubted Tron would approve their plans. Rushing blindly into a battle was about the most bitbrained thing anyone could do. But it was something these Users would do. Especially if it meant keeping everyone in their world safe.

"I'm tired of sitting around doing nothing," Clint retorted. "Especially if there's a chance we can stop this Dyson once and for all."

Impatient as always. Once again Beck had to remind himself that if Tron wasn't around they probably would have rushed off to fight by now. He was surprised they were able to follow Tron's orders at all at this point.

"We can't just jump into battle, not when we don't know just how strong our enemy is," Tron muttered.

Clint looked like he was ready to argue when he thought better of it. Tron did have a good point. Though by now they knew full well what Dyson was capable of. With that soldier of his, taking him down would be even more difficult now.

"The files I grabbed have locations on all of the bases he has," Natasha explained once the tension died down. Tron raised an eyebrow as she tossed him the files she had picked up.

"If what you're saying is true, than Dyson could be anywhere," Tron sighed.

He sounded more exhausted than ever. Beck wondered if he had even gotten an ounce of sleep since Argon City was destroyed. It had been difficult to get much sleep since than. He was constantly wondering how anyone could let this happen. Or where Mira could possibly be hiding.

"Or he's giving us a false lead," Beck put in. It was possible Dyson could only have a couple of bases, and make it seem like there were more scattered throughout the Grid. Anything to throw off intruders.

"I should be able to pick out whether or not that's true," Tron told him once the computer screen was pulled out.

Even if communication was taken down he could still access most of the files on the Grid. Beck watched with interest as he sifted through the files, careful to avoid spilling any secrets to the Users standing behind him.

Tron finally reached what looked like an archive of files. Tapping on a few codes here and there, his eyes narrowed with frustration.

"There's three bases?" Natasha's question broke the uneasy silence that filled the room.

"It looks that way," agreed Tron. He glanced at the two Users. "This is going to be dangerous. Dyson likely already knows we're looking for him, and the bases will be heavily guarded," he explained. "We'll have to split up."

"Sounds easy enough," Clint replied with a shrug.

Easy? Beck raised an eyebrow at his confidence. He wished he could share that. Right now the odds seemed to be against them. And if Tron was right, they might be facing some of Dyson's toughest soldiers.

"Take this, you can use it to defend yourself." Tron tossed over a baton towards Natasha, who caught it with ease. She eyed the baton warily before activating it. "It's a light sword, and it should serve you well in battle," he explained.

Beck felt his chest tighten with pain at the sight. He really wished that he knew where Mira was. If anything had happened to her... he would never forgive himself. And seeing Natasha with a light sword reminded him all to well of her.

. . .

She ran a finger through her hair, nervous about what would happen next. The team had regrouped outside of what was left of Argon City. And while they were waiting for Copper's return, Mara was left thinking of which city would become the next target.

"Hey Mara," Zed murmured as he joined her warily. Mara tried not to look wary around him. Despite how often she had turned him down back when Clu was ruling the Grid, Mara couldn't help but love the bitbrain. He just didn't know how to talk to her without making things awkward between them. "You okay?"

"Honestly, I'm worried," she admitted with a sigh. Zed raised an eyebrow in surprise. "I wish that Beck was around. He would've known what to do next in this kind of situation, even if he was the Renegade. We don't even know what happened to him."

Zed nodded in agreement at the thought of their old friend. Since the discovery that Beck was the Renegade, everyone at Able's garage had stopped talking about him. Rumors had flown around that he ran off with that girl they had met so many cycles ago. Though Zed had always pushed the rumors aside as they were. He couldn't see Beck having a girlfriend, any more than he could see himself with Mara.

"You don't think he was derezzed, do you?" The question made Mara flinch on instinct. She hated the word 'derezzed'. After watching so many programs suffer for so many cycles, Zed didn't blame her for hating it.

"No, I refuse to believe that he was," she retorted. "I mean, Beck was the _Renegade_! There's no way he would let himself get derezzed."

They left it at that, unsure how to continue the conversation without letting anger get the better of themselves. Another awkward silence followed. At this rate they weren't going to get anywhere if Copper didn't return. Mara could only hope that he didn't get derezzed on his way back. The last thing she wanted was to lose another friend.

* * *

**AN: I actually enjoy writing in Mara's point of view. She's a fun character to write about. That determination and leadership skill will really come in handy in the future :) So thank you 2theSky, QuilSniv, Panda Bear Lover 317 and Briannajs-22 for reviewing. You guys are awesome as always ;)**


	8. I Know

**Chapter Eight**

The plan was simple. They each check out a base and see whether or not Dyson was there. And if he was, take him down no matter the consequences. At least when Tron had explained it the plan sounded simple. But now as Beck thought about it, he realized that this was extremely dangerous.

Tron was with Clint, and Natasha and Beck were on their own. So all Beck needed to do was rely on his stealth to get through this base.

What bothered him more than anything else was how obvious the base looked. It stood out in what was left of the old Tron City.

Long story short, Tron City had been taken down because of what Clu had done to it. Tron felt as though the city was living proof of Clu's existence. Sam didn't have the heart to destroy the file, so he left it standing as a garbage heap. Similar to what was once Purgos.

The base itself was located near the center of the old city. Beck could already see the remains of recognizers and warships that Clu and his generals had used. What were once towers had become a crumbling heap of cubes.

Beck tried to keep calm as he waited for the right moment to get in. No locked building had ever kept him out. And this was no different.

"What are you doing outside the base?" Beck flinched when he heard the commanding order of a soldier. He turned to see a group of soldiers looking at him, masks covering their faces. And for once he was thankful to have a disguise on. "You're needed inside, soldier," he snapped.

Without saying anything, Beck just nodded and did as he was told. One of the benefits of being a program was that you could make a disguise for just about any situations. Just keep your mask on and play it dumb. So far none of the soldiers seemed to notice that anything was off.

"We captured this program trying to evacuate one of the cities." Again Beck had to flinch when another soldier walked past him, shoving a familiar face forward.

Copper. He didn't look pleased. A few scratches now marked his face where the soldiers likely attacked him. All the while he was shouting insults at them, struggling to break free of the cuffs now binding his wrists.

"Where is he going?" Beck tried to keep his disguised voice steady as they made their way down the corridors.

"To the repurposing chamber," the soldier replied. "He's strong, but not strong enough, yet."

Almost at once Beck froze on the spot. A repurposing chamber? What exactly did Dyson have in mind here?

He didn't get the chance to ask. The soldiers stopped beside another door, letting it slide open. Looking up at the ceiling, Beck noticed that a large machine was hovering above them. His eyes widened in horror when he noticed that the machine was holding some kind of gas mixture within it.

"Let me take care of this," Beck offered after realizing how serious this was. This was how Dyson's army had gotten so big so quickly. He couldn't let Copper get repurposed. Dash would never forgive him.

"You're not authorized to operate this machine," the soldier retorted.

Holding back a sigh of frustration, Beck could only watch as Copper was shoved into the room. Only one soldier remained as he prepared to turn the machine on. In the meantime Copper had given up his ranting, seeming to realize what was happening.

Beck suddenly rushed forward after the soldier, who's hand was on the dial to switch on the machine. The soldier let out a choking cry before Beck pinned him to the ground, knocking him out in nanocycles.

"I am now," he announced once the soldier was unresponsive.

Copper just eyed him warily as he looked up at his former coworker.

"If you're here to derezz me-" Beck cut him off with a shake of his head.

"Calm down Copper, it's me." The mechanic's eyes widened when Beck turned off his voice disguise. He pulled out the tool that Bodhi had made and took off the cuffs once Copper realized he wasn't a threat.

"Beck I... how?" Copper was at a loss for words as he searched for answers.

"Look, you have every right to hate me for what I did. Right now we need to get you out of here," Beck told him.

Copper just nodded, still at a loss for words. Beck turned his voice disguise back on, careful to make it look like he was leading Copper away to a cell. If they even had those on this base. Beck still hadn't gotten a good look at the place. He hoped that wouldn't backfire on him.

They made their way down the winding hallway, passing a few soldiers along the way. No one bothered asking what Beck was doing with the captured program. He wasn't sure if that was a good thing or a bad thing.

"Beck, about the program that captured me-" He sentence was cut off when an alarm sounded.

Beck suddenly grabbed Copper by the wrist and started to run. At this rate the soldiers would be on them in nanocycles, if they weren't already.

"Run now, talk later!" he ordered while running.

He didn't stop running until they reached a corner in the hallway. The door loomed ahead, and Beck tried not to groan when he realized that it was heavily guarded.

"What about that program?" he demanded in a whisper.

"Beck, I don't think that program was a program," Copper suddenly murmured. He was about to make a retort when Copper continued, "I managed to break open their suit with my disk, and when I did, red liquid came out of the cut."

"Look, even if that was possible, I doubt a User would ever work for anyone," Beck muttered under his breath. All the while his mind was reeling with this sudden news. A User might be working for Dyson. He had to wonder what sort of User would be bitbrained enough to do that. "You need to get out of here," he added more carefully.

"What about you?" Copper demanded.

"I'm staying here." Copper eyed him warily, but he didn't dare say anything else.

It didn't take long for either of them to knock out the soldiers. Most of them were pushovers, but a few had put up a good fight. Once the last one fell Copper was given a short opportunity to escape.

"Be careful," Beck warned him as he rushed out.

Already the door was closing, and Beck went back to hiding to avoid any passing soldiers. Now he was going to have to play it safe.

* * *

**AN: Apologies for the short chapters. Unfortunately that's just how they turned out... But hey, at least I'm updating ;) Thanks to Panda Bear Lover 317 and 2theSky for reviewing. You guys are awesome :D (Does anyone do anything for Holy Thursday by the way? We usually dye our Easter Eggs before going to church, lots of fun!)**


	9. Something About You

**Chapter Nine**

They were still waiting, impatiently of course, for Copper's return. It felt like cycles had passed before Paige finally spotted him. Mara was still talking with Zed about all the memories they had with Beck when she pointed out the exhausted looking program.

"Copper, what happened to you?" Dash rushed forward to help his friend up. Copper looked like he was ready to pass out.

"I ran into a little problem while evacuating the city," Copper explained with a sheepish grin. "Barely got out alive."

"It was the black guard, wasn't it?" Paige asked.

Copper's only response was a nod of confirmation. "Someone else was there too though... He helped me get out," he added warily.

He? Mara exchanged an anxious look with Zed. She could only imagine what he meant by that. It could've been Tron or that User with anger issues.

"We need to get you some rest," Dash said. He had one arm around Copper while keeping his friend from falling over.

"And some energy," Copper groaned.

The team wasted no time in getting him back to the safehouse. While they were waiting she had a feeling that Tron was still out along with his closest companions. Maybe Copper would be able to tell them exactly what had happened during his capture. She hoped that nothing too serious had happened to him.

. . .

"You call this simple?" Tron rolled his eyes as Clint asked the question for what felt like the hundredth time.

He wondered how Users could get this annoying. It's a good thing Mira was nothing like them. Though at this point it was always difficult comparing the three of them. In ways she was just like Natasha. Difficult to read and even more difficult to calm down when angry. In other ways though she was like Clint.

"It's simple enough," Tron replied. "Got your target?"

Clint's only response was a fire of an arrow, landing straight into the path of a group of soldiers.

The base was heavily guarded, not that that surprised Tron. Dyson likely already knew he would strike back. What bothered Tron more than anything was the soldier that had stayed behind after Purgos was destroyed. Would they meet that soldier?

He didn't get the chance to think it over. Their window of opportunity was closing. The two of them made a run for it as the soldiers were still recovering from the explosion. He had to admit that Clint was good with his aim.

Once they were inside more soldiers waited for them. This had to be Dyson's base. If his speculations were right than the program he had grown to hate more than anything else was waiting for them. Almost at once Tron felt his fists tighten at the thought.

"Cover your ears," Clint suddenly ordered while pulling out another arrow. Tron eyed him suspiciously before performing the task.

Once the arrow was fired the soldiers stopped in their tracks, looking at one another in confusion. That was when shockwaves surged through the hallway. For once Tron was thankful he had covered his ears. The soldiers stumbled to the floor, unable to move.

"What was that?" Judging by the smirk Clint was wearing, he had known this would happen.

"Repulsor arrow," he replied.

Tron raised an eyebrow, slightly impressed with the technology used. Users never ceased to amaze him.

The two of them ran down the halls once they were cleared out. Any soldier close enough would've been knocked out by the signal. Unfortunately that was the easy part of their task. Now they had to figure out which room Dyson was hiding in. And that wasn't all they had to worry about.

"So what now?" Several doors now loomed before them. Each one of them could lead to another hallway, or a room full of soldiers.

"This is usually why I bring Beck," Tron grumbled. If they had come as a team than this might have been an easier task. But now they would have to be careful.

In the end they chose the door closest to them. What they saw next was something unexpected.

A room made up entirely of scientists. All of them performing various tasks such as research or looking at different models on screens. One of the scientists had finally noticed their arrival. But they made no move to attack.

"Okay, what's going on here?" Tron grabbed the scientist closest to him and pinned her to the wall, raising a disk against her throat. The scientist didn't even struggle. Her eyes were wide with panic, but she made no attempts at fighting back.

"If we knew we would tell you," she said in a rushed voice. "Dyson had locked up in here, working on new 'ideas' for him for the past xilacycle." Clint raised an eyebrow at the term she just used. Users weren't familiar with how time worked on the Grid. Which was probably a good thing.

"So you truly have no idea why you're here?" Tron pressed his disk against the scientist's neck. Now she was beginning to struggle. The other scientists had gotten up, realizing that their lives could be in danger.

"No!" The scientist braced herself as Tron dropped her.

"Then get out, before Dyson finds out," he snapped.

The scientists gathered around hesitated for a moment, afraid that he might be lying. Tron just folded his arms and waited for the realization that they were free to sink in. And in a matter of nanocycles all of the scientists made a run for it.

"Think she was telling the truth?" Clint looked at the screens curiously once they were alone.

"She was. Their energy levels were dangerously low," Tron explained. "Dyson must have set the place up as a prison for them, to have them create new weapons and methods of torture." Each word came out as though he was grinding his teeth.

The more he learned about Dyson the more he hated the program. Now he wished he had derezzed Dyson when he had the chance. It was only thanks to Beck that he had stopped himself from doing so.

He started sifting through the images on the screens, hoping to have some kind of clue as to where Dyson was hiding. These scientists didn't know the proper code to find their way out. Luckily it was easy hacking into the system.

"There he is." Tron memorized the room as soon as he reached the location.

"Along with that soldier of his," Clint added after glancing at the image. The worry Tron had felt earlier suddenly returned. This soldier was far too familiar for his likings. And he was sure Clint and Natasha had noticed already. Neither of them were willing to admit it though.

"Let's get this done and over with," Tron muttered.

. . .

"Did you manage to see who saved you?" Everyone from Able's garage was gathered around Copper, who was holding a glass of energy while describing his tale.

"Uh... yeah," he replied nervously. "I mean, at least his voice sounded familiar. And he didn't argue when I said his name."

"So, what was his name?" Link asked.

Mara found it hard to believe that he was speaking up. Over the past few cycles Link had become more sociable. Now he was actually fun to be around, especially at the club when they were playing music rather than movies from the User world.

"His name was... Beck," Copper replied in a reluctant tone.

Silence followed his words. And than came the shocked expressions. Mara stared at Copper as if he had grown wings. It could be any Beck, but she only knew of one on the Grid. And that Beck had disappeared, right?

"Copper, are you sure?" Zed asked, voice full of hope.

"Yeah. He stayed behind and let me escape. I'm guessing he wasn't expecting to see me either," Copper added wit a bitter laugh.

"This is huge!" Mara exclaimed. "If Beck's alive than that means the Renegade still lives... and that means he really _is_ the Renegade!"

"Guys, calm down." That was Paige speaking up. "I think there's a reason he didn't tell you. He doesn't want to be treated like a hero, plus he has enough to worry about as it is."

As much as Mara hated admitting it, she was probably right. She had a feeling that Beck was too afraid, or too ashamed to face his friends. That was why he had always kept a mask on. She hoped that when this was all over, they could sit down and chat.

* * *

**AN: So the secret's out. Now things are getting more exciting by the nano ;) And I'm seeing the Winter Soldier again, this time in 3D XD It's too good to see only once. I missed way too many details. Anywho, a big thank you to 2theSky and Panda Bear Lover 317 for reviewing! You guys are awesome! :D**


	10. Hold Fast

**Chapter Ten**

By now Beck was getting used to creeping along the extensive network of underground tunnels. Users, how many tunnels did one general need? The question that left Beck shaking his head in annoyance would never be answered. So he avoided any soldiers blocking the way and took different twists and turns.

That was pretty much how he spent the next few pectrocycles. Just wandering aimlessly through the halls trying to find where Dyson was hiding. It was a boring job. But he needed to keep up his work if he wanted to get anywhere.

What he wouldn't give to have someone to chat with. At least when Mira was with him she'd always have something to say. Now that he was alone he realized just how much he missed her. And not just because she had kept him company during missions.

He paused when he reached what looked like a dead end. The tunnel was winding towards the left. It made him wonder if these tunnels were all connected to the three bases that Dyson had kept in operation. If that was the case than finding Dyson would be easier than he'd originally thought.

Suddenly the sound of footsteps echoing caught his attention. Beck reached for his disk, growing tired of knocking out soldier after soldier. The sound was getting closer as he got further down the tunnel. Without warning he threw his disk, only to have it blocked by a light sword. In a matter of nanocycles the enemy had him pinned to the floor, sword aimed for his neck as he struggled to free himself. His mask receded when he recognized his attacker.

"Natasha?" The red-head suddenly released her grip on the light sword, looking more amused than anything else. "How did you..." He cut himself off, already knowing the answer.

"These tunnels are all connected," she replied.

"Wait, how many times have you been through here?" He was surprised when she helped him up.

"Enough times to know that Dyson is here, waiting for us," she explained. "He has guards posted in one central room. Clint and Tron are closer to it than they realize."

Okay, that was pretty impressive. He always kept forgetting how much more experienced Natasha was with these situations.

"So we take out the guards and than Dyson," he suggested as they started making their way through the tunnels once more.

"I'm afraid it won't be that easy," Natasha pointed out. "From what I've gathered those soldiers are there to give Dyson an alarm. If anyone manages to reach that room he will know, if he doesn't already."

Beck pinched the bridge of his nose in frustration. So much for this being simple. If what she said was true than Dyson probably had some sort of backup plan. He was determined to make Clu's dream of a 'perfect system' come true.

So the two of them made their way carefully towards the room Natasha had mentioned. Only to find that the soldiers had already been taken down. Beck raised an eyebrow curiously when he saw that the door to the room was already opened.

Natasha was the first to venture forward, boldly making her way into the room where Dyson was hiding. Or as Beck would soon find out, simply seated at what looked like a throne with the soldier from Purgos standing beside him.

"The Renegade and infamous Black Widow... I was wondering when you two would show up, seeing as your friends have already tried taking me down." The grin Dyson wore made Beck wish he could tackle the corrupted program off that throne. But seeing as they were evenly matched, he knew better.

"Wait, what do you mean-" Dyson cut him off with a wave of his hand.

"Your wonderful mentor, Tron, was easy to take down. As for the other User that was with him, well, you can see how that ended," Dyson replied with another low chuckle. Before he had a chance to say anything else, Natasha lunged forward. She moved faster than Beck could think, pinning Dyson against the chair with the light sword Tron had given pressed at his neck.

"Where is Mira?" Beck's eyes widened at the question. He hadn't even thought of asking that, and suddenly that familiar pain in his chest returned. Dyson's grin only grew wider, to the point of creeping Beck out. How much worse could this nutcase get?

"Standing right beside you, actually." The light sword was poised to strike, only to be knocked out of her hands. The soldier standing beside Dyson earlier twisted Natasha's wrist behind her back, throwing her right onto the floor. "Tron made the mistake of training this little User... such a strong one, thanks to him. I find much better use of that strength, if you haven't noticed."

That's Mira? Beck's eyes widened again, this time in horror, when he recognized the symbol on the soldier's chest. When Mira had left them after the incident with Cyrus, she had changed her suit's appearance and name to keep Tron and Clu off her trail. Now he suddenly understood why this soldier had looked so familiar.

"What have you done to her?" Natasha threw her legs forward, landing on her feet moments before Mira easily caught up with her, this time kicking her in the thigh. The two were evenly matched, but Mira's smaller size made it easier to twist away from Natasha's attacks.

"The scientists I recruited developed a modified code, to repurpose Users," Dyson explained. "I knew full well which User I would test it on. The one that Tron and his apprentice care so much about."

This time Beck struck out, anger getting the better of him. Now he understood why Tron was intent on derezzing this lunatic. Dyson was mad enough to test on a User and turn them into something they were not.

Beck swung a fist into Dyson's face, colliding with his nose. The general didn't even flinch as he heard something snap. Relentlessly Beck kept throwing a fist at Dyson, ignoring the fact that he was tiring out. The final fist he threw was aimed at the stomach, only to be stopped with a simple flick of the wrist.

"Why don't we end this, shall we?" It didn't take long for Beck to register what that meant. He was about to say something when a sharp pain stabbed at his side. Almost at once black spots clouded his vision, until he was struggling to stand. "As I said before, I'm here to finish what I started."

* * *

**AN: Apologies for the shorter chapter, but what can ya do? On the plus side, lots of exciting things happening :P So... yeah. Thanks 2theSky, QuilSniv, and Panda Bear Lover 317 for reviewing! You guys are awesome :)**


	11. Greater

**Chapter Eleven**

Cold walls surrounded Beck as he finally woke up. The pain he felt from earlier returned, making him wince as he struggled to sit up. He was laying in a small room, a prison from what it looked like. And around him were faces he had become familiar with over the past few cycles.

"Beck, I'm glad to see you're awake," Tron said once Beck registered what was going on.

"What happened?" He was still groggy, and the pounding in the back of his head wasn't helping.

Than his eyes widened as memories of the fight against Dyson returned. That was why his head was pounding. Mira... somehow Dyson had gotten his hands on her.

"If I ever get out of this damned place I'll personally cut his head off!" Beck winced again at the curses Clint was shouting. The cuffs binding his wrists together made it more difficult to get comfortable, though Beck doubted he could ever feel that way here.

"Clint, calm down. At this rate we'll lose our hearing," Natasha muttered with a roll of her eyes.

"How can you stay calm? That son of bitch brainwashed our daughter!" This time Natasha pursed her lips and glared at Clint, eyes cold as ice.

"Of course I can't stay calm, but letting my anger out isn't going to get us anywhere," she snapped.

"Are you two done yet?" Tron's voice rose above the shouting, making Beck suddenly wish that he had earplugs. The silence that followed was almost deafening. "Beck, do you still have that tool Bodhi made?"

His only response was a nod, followed by confused looks from Natasha and Clint. The cuffs weren't tight enough that he couldn't wriggle around his wrists. Like the time Tron had caught him in the Outlands, this situation was somewhat similar to that.

The tool was small enough that he kept it on him at all times. And not for the last time he was grateful Bodhi had designed it. Carefully he typed in the code once it was latched onto the cuffs. In nanocycles that cuffs were undone. Once his hands were available he helped free the others.

Beck wasted no time in breaking the door open. Finding the right code for that was easy. It was a good thing Dyson hadn't thought this through.

"Finding Dyson won't be so difficult," Natasha announced as they passed the now empty throne room. It was likely that Dyson had left long before any of them recovered from being knocked out.

"You put a tracer on him, didn't you?" Once the throbbing went away, Beck was more determined than ever to stop Dyson, and save Mira.

"Obviously," she replied. "He isn't far from here."

The four of them headed down yet another extensive hallway. Beck was getting tired of seeing these endless tunnels. Once this was over he might actually consider staying in the User world for a few cycles. Getting some fresh air would be nice.

Sure enough Natasha was right about Dyson. Beck's eyes narrowed with outrage when he spotted Mira standing beside the general. If he could he would derezz Dyson right than and there. Unfortunately it was never that easy.

"I was wondering how long it would take for you to find me," Dyson sneered.

He moved to the side as Clint fired an arrow (how many of those things had he gone through already?), dodging it with ease. Just as he did so Mira sent the arrow flying towards them. Beck jumped out of the way once the arrow exploded, the others doing the same.

"Dyson, enough of this! It's over!" Tron threw his disk at Dyson, who blocked it with his own disk. Glancing back at Natasha and Clint, Beck noticed that they were holding their own against Mira. He was torn between who he should join.

"It's not over until I say it is!" Dyson snapped. He twisted around and threw his disk, knocking Tron's out of his hand.

With a shake of his head, Beck joined in on the fight. Dyson threw out a leg and he flipped back, landing on his hand before throwing his own leg to sweep Dyson off his feet. Dyson cursed under his breath as Beck flipped back again, this time throwing a fist into his chin. Dyson was thrown off guard, reeling back in pain.

Tron suddenly grabbed Dyson by the wrist as he prepared to throw another punch. The program's eyes widened in disbelief as Tron flipped Dyson onto his back, pinning him to the floor. Wariness suddenly washed over Beck. He knew that he was ready for what would happen next. He had been telling himself that this was the right thing. But still something held him back.

"Time to end this." With a disk raised and activated, Tron threw it down. Beck braced himself for the scream of agony that would follow.

"You derezz me now, and the User you care about so much will never be free." This time Tron paused in his attack, only to give Dyson enough time to kick him in the chest, knocking him aside.

_There are more ways to break repurposing_, Beck thought. If they had more time Cutler would have broken free of Clu's grasp. Beck had already seen it happen. The old warrior had been fighting it the whole time.

By now Mira had already taken down Clint. Natasha was still holding her own in battle, flipping back to avoid getting kicked or punched while striking out. Beck saw the chance to join in and stopped Mira from delivering a blow to Natasha in the chest.

"Mira, this isn't you!" he shouted while blocking a swift punch in the face. "The User I know wouldn't let anyone control her, especially someone like him!" A swing to the thigh caused him to lurch in pain. But this time he wasn't holding back.

"You think you can break the repurposing?" Dyson sneered. "Users are weak and easily manipulated. This just proves my theory!"

This time a scream of agony did follow his words. Clint had fired an arrow straight at Dyson. The moment it landed electricity surged through him. Beck tried not to flinch as pixels scattered across the floor. Dyson was derezzed. And now all that was left was freeing Mira from whatever repurposing he had done to her.

It was a standoff. Between the four of them and Mira, who by now had dropped one of the disks she was holding earlier. Beck had a feeling that the disk was one of the ways Dyson had controlled her. Now that he was gone it might be possible to revert the repurposing.

Just the fact that Dyson had been derezzed made him feel nervous. Despite everything Dyson had done, he still couldn't find the heart to derezz a program.

"Mira, please don't do this." The room had been eerily silent, aside from the whirring noises of their activated disks.

By now Beck's fists had tightened up as he prepared for the fight that would likely follow. From what Sam had told him Tron had fought off Clu's repurposing as well. So he knew that it was possible Mira could fight it, and had been fighting it.

And suddenly Mira dropped her other disk. The sickening orange and red lights that had lined her suit earlier began to flicker, changing to their natural color. Everything happened so quickly that it was a blur for Beck. Tron caught her as she started to fall, expression grim as he realized what was happening.

"What just... happened?" Clint had dropped his bow, suddenly looking more worried than anything.

"Her system fought the repurposing," Tron explained warily. "Once you derezzed Dyson his hold on her was gone."

"So she's going to be okay?" Beck leaned forward, feeling a sense of hope for the first time in cycles.

"It depends on your idea of 'okay'." The bitterness in Tron's voice made Beck flinch.

He suddenly remembered how they had found Tron after that battle against Pavel. The security program had been suffering from serious injuries thanks to Clu. And he had been so afraid to show his face after everything that happened.

"**Bring your tired, Bring your shame, Bring your guilt, Bring your pain, Don't you know that's not you're name, You will always be much more to me, Every day I wrestle with the voices, That keep telling me I'm not right, But that's alright...**"

_I won't let that happen to you_, he promised. If anyone blamed her for what had happened, he would personally make them suffer the consequences. None of this was her fault.

"**'Cause I hear a voice and He calls me redeemed, When others say I'll never be enough, And greater is the One living inside of me, Than he who is living in the world, In the world, In the world, And greater is the One living inside of me, Than he who is living in the world...**"

"It will take time for her to recover from this," Tron warned them.

"So does this mean communication is back up?" Beck raised an eyebrow when Natasha asked the question. Tron's only response was a 'yes'.

Beck couldn't look away as Tron held on to Mira, as if afraid that she might suddenly disappear on them. After these last few cycles, he wouldn't be surprised if that was what happened. Though truthfully he would have done the same. Tron just beat him to it.

* * *

**AN: Yes, I had to end it there :P And hopefully this wasn't too rushed... I may end up rewriting a few chapters in the future just to make them flow more evenly. Only one more chapter left (and I am in the process of writing a bonus chapter, still debating whether or not I will post it), and this finished. After that I'll be working on Disaster :) Big thanks to Sunofaia, 2theSky and Panda Bear Lover 317 for reviewing! You guys are awesome :D**

**Lyrics come from the song Greater by MercyMe**


	12. Goodbye Ordinary

**Chapter Twelve**

"**I wonder when we first bought into this so satisfied with status quo have we convinced, ourselves that this is all there is well all that is within me says we were meant to break free. live like there's no tomorrow love extravagantly lead a life to be followed goodbye ordinary, goodbye ordinary...**"

Music was playing softly in the room. Still she had not woken up since fighting the repurposing Dyson had forced upon her.

Beck sat beside her, hand wrapped around hers as he tried to think of others means to help her. The last time she had been in this state words brought her back. But now he wasn't even sure what to say.

He still blamed himself for all of this. After returning from their mission, everyone gave him space. The mechanics from Able's garage had even stopped by. At first he was surprised they had known he would be here. Than he guessed that Tron had told them what had happened.

"**We were never meant to compromise settle for mediocrity this life was never made to be a waste, of time well all that is within me says no more just existing. No more complacency no more just settling this time goodbye to atrophy for we were meant to be alive...**"

"Hey, are you alright?" He flinched when he recognized Mara's quiet voice. Standing beside her was Zed, looking more than just anxious as she continued speaking, "Look, I understand why you didn't tell us. We both do."

"This was all my fault," he suddenly whispered.

"Beck, stop blaming yourself for something you couldn't stop," Zed snapped. For all his nervousness around everyone, for the first time Zed actually spoke up. Even Mara looked at him in surprise as he leaned forward, arms folded.

He finally turned to face him, eyes widening slightly when Zed just smirked.

"So she's the girl you were with at the garage," Mara said, trying to keep the conversation from getting any worse.

"Yeah." Beck glanced back at Mira. She looked paler than ever. Her scars were now visible after Tron had forced her helmet to recede. While her circuits were glowing with health, Beck wasn't sure what kind of damage Dyson had caused internally.

"What happened to her?" Zed's question made Beck flinch again.

She had been through just about everything the world could throw at her. Her past had always been a touchy subject. And he wasn't sure whether or not Zed and Mara would understand it all. Just knowing that she was a User was probably a big enough shock for them.

"I think we'd better give them some alone time," Mara suddenly intervened, noticing the uneasy silence that had followed.

"**Oh Lord have mercy on this weary soul, Come and take me to the river and make me whole. It's down the with old up with the new, The hard reset my life take two, Oh Lord have mercy on this weary soul...**"

Beck's eyes widened when Mira suddenly began to stir. Once Mara and Zed were gone the music had been turned up. It was a good way to keep his mind off of the events that had occurred earlier. It seemed that her taste in music had rubbed off on him.

"**I've got a new lease on life, They say you only live once, But I live twice, I've got a new lease on life, I've got a new lease on life, Yeah... Oh Lord remind me of who I am, My chains have been shattered I'm a brand new man, I'm free indeed, I'm dead no more, At my worst I'm still adored, Oh Lord remind me, this is who I am...**"

"Hey." The single word made Beck grin like an idiot. Just knowing that she was finally awake gave him a small sense of hope.

"Hey," he whispered back. "How are you... feeling?" He wasn't even sure what to say after what she had been through.

"Like Thor's hammer smacked me in the back of my head," she grumbled.

Her remark made Beck stare at her in surprise. Of all the things she could have said. At least she still had a sense of humor.

"Tron said that would happen," he admitted guiltily. "Do you... know what happened?" His voice dropped to a whisper. He hated bringing it up. Just knowing what Dyson had done to her made him wish he had derezzed the nutcase.

Eyes darkening a little, she looked down at the sheets that were covering her. "I remember bits and pieces," she murmured.

Maybe it was better to leave out what had happened. Tron had once told him that he could remember every little detail of what Clu had done to him, and forced him to do. He couldn't let her live through what Dyson had forced her to do.

"I'm sorry," he suddenly told her. She just looked at him in confusion. "If I had told you what was going on... maybe none of this would've happened."

"I have a feeling this would've happened even if you had told me." She looked away, as if afraid of what to say next. "Now I know what Clint went through," she added under her breath.

The bitterness in her voice made Beck flinch, again. He had learned through Mira what had happened when the Avengers were first formed. Apparently some maniac known as Loki had tried taking over the world. And he had brainwashed more than a few SHIELD agents in the process, Clint being among them. Mind control was still a touchy subject around him.

"Everyone knows it wasn't your fault," he tried to reassure her.

"But they know about you." Beck felt that familiar twinge of regret return. How she had known about that made his mind reel with curiosity.

He had rescued Copper back when Dyson's army captured him. By now everyone had found out about his rescue. And the rescuer. Mara and Zed had pointed that out a few microcycles ago.

"I knew the risk I was taking... and I'm okay with it," he sighed.

"I told you that would happen." Mira's grin caught him by surprise. But she had told him that would happen. And he never felt happier to be proven wrong. "So I take it Birdie and Widow are gone?" She sat up, with some support from him before asking the question.

"They left a few pectrocycles ago," he explained. "They wanted to explain to Fury what happened."

This time it was Mira's turn to flinch. Beck doubted whatever the director of SHIELD had to say would be anything friendly.

"What about the Grid itself?" she asked the question hesitantly, and Beck could understand her reluctance.

"Sam's rewriting the cities that were taken out by Dyson," he replied. He didn't miss the look of wariness flashing in her eyes. Again he would have told her that none of what had happened was her fault. This was all because Dyson had forced her into joining the army.

"That's good to hear." Another silence fell between them.

"Uh, Natasha wanted me to give you this." He broke the silence by handing her the baton Tron had given to Natasha. Remembering that Mira had lost her last light sword, he knew that she would need another one to defend herself.

Mira eyed the baton warily before turning it into a light sword. "Thanks," she murmured.

"Everything's going to be different now," Beck sighed after sitting on the bed beside her.

"I think we said goodbye to ordinary xilacycles ago," she laughed.

Beck couldn't help but grin at that. Their lives had always been a challenge. But now they could get through those challenges together. Without warning he embraced her with a hug, realizing just how much he had missed her.

"I missed you," he whispered.

"I missed you too, bitbrain." For the first time since this had started, he was happy. He would never let this happen to her again. Not as long as he was still breathing.

. . .

Checked the time in the User world. It was late by the time things had finally settled. And still the nightmarish visions kept coming back. Most of the cities had been restored in a matter of hours thanks to Sam and Quorra's help. But still I kept thinking back to everything that happened.

I knew now what it was like to not have any control over my actions. Despite what I had told Beck (he was still apologizing after I got out of the bed), I had seen everything. At least up until Dyson had given me a second disk. After that everything went blank.

"You sure about this?" We were in the elevator. Everyone was still in what was the old safehouse that Tron had modified. Sam wanted to run a checkup to make sure the cities were suitable for living.

"I need to face them sooner or later," Beck sighed, voice wary from all the worrying. "Mara and Zed were the only ones who stopped by earlier."

Even I was having second thoughts about seeing them. After what had happened, I wouldn't blame them for hating me. Beck had told me that it was Clint who derezzed Dyson. I'd never been happier to hear that kind of news. Though I still cringed at the thought of killing anyone.

Being part of SHIELD meant I had to take those kind of risks.

Soon the elevator reached it's destination. It seemed like we both took a deep breath before facing the wrath of everyone from Argon City.

What we didn't expect was to find everyone standing there, whispering to one another. And in that moment a hand reached out for Beck, pulling him forward. Mara, followed quickly by Zed, than soon everyone from Able's garage had joined them.

"Beck, you'll always have a place at the garage, no matter what you've done." Beck was at a loss for words. In the back of the crowd stood Able himself, nodding in approval.

"I... thank you," he stammered.

"He never did anything wrong," Mara pointed out. "You saved our lives, countless times, even when we pushed you away... that takes more than just courage."

Leave it to Mara to always put on a good speech. I sat in the back of the group, aware of the stares everyone gave me every now and than. Half of me was expecting them to ignore me. And the other half was bracing myself for the shouting that would follow.

"So uh... does this mean you'll be going back to work?" I was even more surprised when Link asked the question.

He seemed less nervous around large crowds now, even making eye contact with the programs around him every few minutes.

"Don't know," he replied with a shrug. He glanced back at me, suddenly looking worried again. "Are you okay?" he asked for what felt like the hundredth time. I think by now I've gotten used to being asked the million dollar question every few minutes.

"Beck, I should probably go back," I murmured halfheartedly. Not that I didn't want to leave. I was going to have to face the wrath of Fury sooner or later.

"Are you sure?" An uncomfortable hush fell upon the room. I'm guessing it was Mara and Zed who told everyone what had happened to me, if Tron hadn't told them. So far no one made a comment, and I'd rather leave it that way.

"Yeah, I'm sure."

For a while we did nothing. All I could think of was how long it would take for things to go back to normal. Well, at least our definition of normal. Like I had said earlier, our lives were never going to be ordinary.

Than after what felt the longest time of just staring at each other, Beck did something unexpected. We kissed. And I've never felt more at home now, wrapped in his arms in an embrace. With everyone still watching.

And I could care less. This was where I belonged. Here on the Grid, surrounded by the programs I had grown up with. Nothing would ever take that away. Not Dyson or SHIELD.

* * *

**AN: So that's the end of it. Like I said, there may or may not be a bonus chapter. And the next book will likely be started on Monday if I get the chance, Easter is a big day for my family. First we go to the dawn service at church, than spend the rest of the day with my dad's side of the family. Yep, family is very important to us :) So thanks to 2theSky, Sunofaia and Panda Bear Lover 317 for reviewing! You guys are awesome :D**

**Lyrics come from Goodbye Ordinary and New Lease On Life from MercyMe**


	13. This Life

**AN: I wasn't going to post this originally, but than I decided to so that it wouldn't be so confusing to those reading Disaster. It's sort of a 'bonus' chapter to those who are curious. Thanks everyone for your reviews, and don't forget to check out Disaster when that's posted :)**

* * *

**Chapter Thirteen**

The next few days were like a blur to me.

It didn't help that I was constantly answering missed calls and filling out paperwork for Fury. Luckily Natasha had explained to him what had happened. That it did happen still made me cringe. The first night I got back I woke up from nightmares.

You'd imagine my surprise when I was shaken awake by Natasha. Gotta love that SHIELD's watching my every move. But I was thankful for her company. For the first time I was beginning to notice that she was filling in her roll as a mother. And she was actually doing a good job at it.

Rinzler had also been watched over by Steve during my 'disappearance'. Even after saying he'd never watch Rinzler again he had agreed to it. I'd never felt more grateful. I'm sure that Rinzler had given Steve his fair share of trouble.

Other than that I've been slowly adjusting to a normal life. Well, about as normal as my life would ever get.

So you could imagine my surprise when I was invited to dinner at Stark Tower, with the rest of the team of course. The invitation had come from Tony Stark of all people. Normally I would've turned down the offer, but considering it's been a while since I've seen everyone, I couldn't resist.

Taking a deep breath, I glanced at the mirror and tried not to wince at my reflection. After everything I'd been through these past few days, I'm surprised I didn't look worse. I tried pushing the uneasy thoughts aside and covered up my wrists, making sure the scars didn't show.

I may have gotten to know everyone (Steve, Bruce, Tony, and I'm sure Pepper would be there), but the scars were still a touchy subject.

"What do you think?" I looked back at Rinzler, who was perched on the windowsill.

"You look beautiful." My heart nearly skipped a beat, and I whirled around just in time to see a familiar face standing in the living space. It took everything I had not to blush. And I failed miserably.

"How did you get here?" Beck just grinned as he shrugged - a response I've gotten used to over time.

"Apparently I was invited to that dinner too," he replied in a sheepish tone. "Something about, 'you should totally join us'."

Yep, that sounded like Tony. Well this suddenly got more interesting. I wonder if the others knew that Beck was joining them. I suppose we were about to find out sooner or later.

"Guess we should head out than," I suggested after grinning back.

It was good to see him. No, it was better than good. I didn't even want to know how he managed to get here without turning on the Digitizer. My guess was Tony had somehow hacked into it. Or Sam. Wouldn't surprise me if those two were working together now.

"Are you sure they won't be annoyed with me?" he asked as we headed down after locking up (I had to keep Rinzler from following us. Little nutcase was ready to run out of the door).

"Hey, it was Tony's idea," I replied.

I hoped we didn't run into Peter on the way there. There was no way I could explain to him where I had disappeared to. Last thing I wanted to do was relive those memories. The best thing to do was push them away, forget that it had ever happened.

To relief we didn't run into any trouble along the way. Just a few curious glances every now from people passing us. Luckily Beck's suit had changed back to normal clothes (gray long-sleeved shirt and jeans) upon his return. So for the most part we didn't stand out.

Once inside the building I thought over what I would tell them. All of the worrying I had felt earlier suddenly came rushing back. I'm sure Natasha or Fury would've told them by now. But I didn't want them treating me differently because of it.

"You okay?" Beck looked over at me, expression dark when he noticed I was biting the bottom of my lip.

"I'm just... worried about what they'll say," I admitted.

"I'm sure they understand what happened," he murmured.

Part of me wanted to agree with Beck. But another part of me refused to accept that there was no way I could what had happened. I could have fought back. Done anything to keep those nightmares from coming back.

I was hoping that Beck was right.

As the elevator reached it's destination I could already hear the loud laughter of Tony in the background.

"... could easily get you a girlfriend Rogers, you need one," he was saying as we stepped inside. "Speaking of lovely couples."

This was one of those many times when I wanted to slap that smirk off of his face. Steve's cheeks were burning a bright red while Beck just ruffled the back of his hair. All the while Tony was laughing his ass off.

"Tony, the last thing I need is a distraction from work," Steve muttered as he tried dropping the subject.

"Since when are women distracting?" By now Tony was struggling for breath as Clint said that.

"Good to see you again kid," Tony said after catching his breath. "And of course our favorite Renegade," he added with another grin.

Beck only rolled his eyes in response. Even he got used to Tony's sense of humor. Or I should say his sense of not thinking before he should speak. Either way, we had both pretty much gotten used to it.

"You didn't tell us that he was invited," Steve pointed out in an accusing tone.

"There's a lot I don't tell you," Tony retorted.

"That's because you don't have any secrets," Natasha put in. She was sitting across from Clint, looking rather annoyed as Tony stuck his tongue out at her.

So far no one had asked what had happened. Even Clint and Natasha looked passive as we joined them. Surprisingly the conversation was kept casual as Pepper walked in with Bruce. I don't even want to know where those two had been hiding.

For the most part it was uneventful, aside from the many questions (more like demands) Clint kept asking Beck. If I could I would've kicked him, but he was sitting across from me at the moment. All I could do was shrink back in my seat.

There was nothing new from Bruce, other than the fact that he had started packing up again. Apparently he was headed out of the state for a few weeks. Something about needing a break from the rest of the world. Steve had announced that he was reassigned to Washington D.C., but that wasn't happening for another few months.

That was when Tony decided to drop the bomb. Once the dishes were cleared away we were back in the living space.

"So there is actually a reason why I invited you two here." Tony clasped his hands together before he turned to face us. Glancing over at my shoulder, I noticed that the room had gotten quiet. Not just because everyone was tired of hearing Tony's constant ranting. "I asked Sam if we could merge companies."

This time my jaw actually did drop. I could see why Tony wanted to merge companies. I may not be familiar with how businesses worked, but I did know the technical terms. What I couldn't see was how this would benefit Sam in any way.

"When did this happen?" Beck asked.

"Just last night," he replied while pouring a glass of whine. "Had a nice long chat with Sam and Alan over the phone. Bradley seemed fine with it, but Sam's..." He just shrugged.

I had a feeling that Sam wouldn't be so eager to merge companies. Seeing as Tony didn't trust SHIELD, even though they pretty much knew everything about them, I doubted Sam would ever trust Stark.

"Something tells me this isn't going to end well," I said under my breath. Beck only nodded in agreement, but he grinned nonetheless. Who knows, maybe Tony could actually convince Sam to go through with this.

. . .

Two more weeks passed since the incident. Lets just call it that. Every time I thought about it I cringed. Not just from knowing what had happened, but because it had happened. I kept telling myself that the nightmares would go away.

"**Dear younger me, Where do I start, If I could tell you everything that I have learned so far, Then you could be, One step ahead, Of all the painful memories still running through my head, I wonder how much different things would be, Dear younger me, dear younger me...**"

It was one of those times I wished I had never gotten stuck on the Grid. None of this would have happened.

But than I would have never met Beck. Or discovered who my real parents were.

"Are you okay?" I flinched as I heard Beck's voice rise above the thoughts roaring in my head. Normally I wasn't sitting at the desk reading up on the files Director Fury had sent me. For the most part I spent much of my days and nights either training or on the Grid. This was in fact the first night off I'd had in weeks.

"Honestly, I'm not," I sighed after leaning back against the chair. Rinzler was curled up nearby, tail wrapped neatly to cover his nose. Beck sat across from me, looking more than just worried. "I know that Sam can just rewrite the damage caused by... Dyson, but that doesn't mean he can't rewrite everyone's memories," I explained warily.

It made me wonder how everyone could be so forgiving. No one had bothered questioning why I did what I did. Even that was enough to make the nightmares return. I may have told them I couldn't remember what was going on, but that wasn't entirely true.

"Hey, everyone knows that it wasn't your fault," Beck tried to reassure me.

"They may know it wasn't my fault, but they still know it was me behind the mask," I retorted.

Now I understood how Tron had felt when we found him again. At first he was reluctant to be seen after following Clu's every order as the new Rinzler. Everyone had grown to fear the name Rinzler because of who he was and what he had done. Some programs were still getting over it.

"Don't think like that." I looked at Beck in surprise when he said that. "You're better than that."

What he said caught me off guard. And I never expected to find myself crying. It felt good to let everything out. I was thankful Clint and Natasha weren't around to see me. I didn't want them breathing down my neck, even if that was their way of showing that they cared.

"Don't you have to go back soon?" By now we were both sitting on the sofa, Beck's arms wrapped around me as the night dragged on.

"Actually Tron kind of gave me the next few cycles off," he explained, suddenly sounding sheepish.

That made me raise an eyebrow in surprise. Tron, giving him time off? I can't even remember the last time that had happened. Judging from that sheepish look he had he was thinking the same thing.

"What exactly... did Tron say about it all?" Again I flinched. I couldn't stop myself. And this time Beck frowned as he thought of what to say next.

"He uh... didn't say anything actually," he admitted. "In fact for the most part he's been pretty quiet about... what happened." Even Beck found it uncomfortable to say exactly what had happened. And I couldn't blame him one bit.

Knowing Tron he probably blamed himself for what had happened. Beck had already blamed himself enough, and apologized more times than I could count. I hated seeing him like this, especially since his friends had already discovered who he really was behind that mask.

In the long run it would take time for us all to recover. Clint and Natasha had already warned me that I might have nightmares for a while. Even Tron had warned me. Maybe it was time we both spent a few days away from the Grid. For our sake and for everyone else on the Grid.


End file.
